Local action leads
to local change and, then, global change. So, when the city of Lawrence,
Kansas decided to stop using pesticides this spring on three small public
parks, totaling 12 acres, environmentalists applauded . . . loudly. Terry
Shistar, long-time environmental activist, a member of the Greens, and
board member of Beyond Pesticides/NCAMP said, "These are pretty small
parks, but it's a start." The new action goes beyond a previous city
commitment to reduce pesticide use by going pesticide-free.

The city's action
gets underway just as the nation's homeowners are gearing up to dump upwards
of 50 million pounds (active ingredients) of herbicides on their home
lawns and gardens this spring and summer at a cost of nearly $500 million,
according to the most recent EPA data (1999). Another $1.5+ billion is
spent on another 87 million pounds of insecticides, fungicides, and other
pesticides, totaling over $2 billion in pesticides purchased and used
by homeowners. When adding in the expenditures for commercial sales, like
the local lawn care companies, as well as industry and government use,
the expenditures rise by more than $1.5 billion for another 151 million
pounds of pesticides applied.

The EPA's National
Home and Garden Pesticide Use Survey (1992) found that people do not take
adequate precautions when using pesticides. "Sixty to ninety percent
of the survey respondents said they wash their hands after applying pesticides.
However, only about 33% or less of the respondents took further precautions,
such as: wearing impermeable gloves, long pants, or a long-sleeve shirt;
changing clothes after pesticide applications, removing or covering food
during indoor applications' placing the treated area off-limits; mixing
pesticides outdoors; or avoiding spraying outdoors on windy days."

Almost half, or 47
percent, of survey respondents with children under the age of five said
they stored at least one pesticide in an unlocked cabinet within the reach
of children. At least 85 percent of all households have at least one pesticide
stored in around their home. Most families have from one to five pesticide
products stored. According to the survey 36 percent of households dispose
of leftover pesticides improperly by pouring them down the sink or toilet.
The survey found that about half of the people who use a commercial lawn
care company recall getting information regarding pesticide use and safety
precautions.

Cities across the
country are considering bans similar to Lawrence, Kansas. Action in a
number of Canadian cities, which have established pesticide-free ordinances,
have attracted worldwide attention. In October, 1996, the San Francisco
Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to pass landmark pesticide ordinance
which bans the use of the most toxic pesticides. Now, communities are
saying "NO" to pesticides.